U.S. Southern Command Official Website

Three small boats are ablaze in ocean as a white coast guard ship sails in the background.

May 14 2026

Disrupting Narco-Terrorist Networks

Latest news and information on SOUTHCOM efforts to work with partners to detect, disrupt, and dismantle cartels and narco-terrorist networks.
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A masked officer holding a rifle stands behind a stack of seized illicit drugs.

Aug 27 2026

Narco-Terrorist Network Dismantled in Ecuador

Ecuadorian authorities, supported by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and SOUTHCOM, targeted transnational criminal organizations involved in international cocaine trafficking.
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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks at a lectern on a stage to a seated audience.

Aug 13 2026

Changing the Game

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told members of the Americas Counter Cartel Coalition that the U.S. is firmly committed to working alongside them to dismantle dangerous transnational criminal drug cartels.
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Aug 18 2026

Support to Colombia Earthquake Relief

U.S. military forces support Department of State-led U.S. disaster assistance to the people of Colombia in the aftermath of the August 10, 2026, earthquake.
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U.S. Marines offload disaster assistance supplies from a Landing Craft

Jun 29 2026

Support to Venezuela Earthquake Relief

U.S. military forces supported Department of State-led U.S. disaster assistance to the people of Venezuela in the aftermath of the June 24, 2026, earthquakes.
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Narco-Terrorist Network Dismantled in Ecuador

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma crew members conduct interdiction operations in the Gulf of America, May 8, 2026. Tahoma’s crew, alongside a deployed Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron aircrew, stopped three suspected smuggling vessels carrying narcotics during a maritime patrol approximately 90 miles off Cartagena, Colombia. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Disrupting Narco-Terrorist Networks

Support to Colombia Earthquake Relief

Changing the Game

Support to Venezuela Earthquake Relief

News

Training & Exercises | Sept. 13, 2026

153rd Public Affairs Detachment Arrives in Peru, Participates in Souther...

U.S. Army Soldiers from the 153rd Public Affairs Detachment, Joint Forces Headquarters, West Virginia National Guard, arrived at the Peruvian Army Jungle School (Escuela de Selva) in Sauce, Peru, on September 7, 2026, to provide public affairs

Training & Exercises | Sept. 13, 2026

Southern Vanguard 2026 turns Peru's jungle into a classroom for U.S. Sol...

The jungle has a way of making even simple things complicated. Movement slows. Equipment gets heavier. Water becomes an obstacle instead of a landmark. The environment quietly strips away assumptions about how quickly a formation should move or how

Training & Exercises | Sept. 13, 2026

Peruvian Army hosts U.S., Chile, Argentina for SV26 in the Amazon Jungle

Nearly 400 warfighters from Peru, the United States, Chile, and Argentina joined together on Sept. 7 in Sauce, Peru to train together in the Amazon Jungle for Exercise Southern Vanguard 2026 (SV26).

Training & Exercises | Sept. 12, 2026

Peruvian Army hosts U.S., Chile, Argentina for Amazon Jungle exercise

As the flags of Peru, the United States, Chile, and Argentina wave in the warm breeze, nearly 400 multinational soldiers stood in formation by unit, taking in the opening moments of Exercise Southern Vanguard 2026 (SV26).

Commander

U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Francis L. Donovan is the Commander of U.S. Southern Command. Gen. Donovan assumed command Feb. 5, 2026

GEN. DONOVAN'S BIO

Four Imperatives

SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan has developed four imperatives to posture the U.S. military to confront the threats facing the Western Hemisphere.

Strengthen Hemispheric Command and Control
Defeat Designated Terrorist Organizations
Develop and Field Cost-Effective, Modernized Forces
Secure Strategic Key Terrain

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Lethal Kinetic Strike, August 23, 2026

U.S. Southern Command

Aug. 23, 2026 | 0:09

"This operation is a clear and decisive reminder that SOUTHCOM is taking the fight directly to the cartels."

On August 23, under the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan’s direction, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking. The operation killed two narco-terrorists.

"When I ordered the establishment of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, it was precisely for this purpose: to accelerate, synchronize, and execute lethal actions against these destabilizing narco-terrorist networks. We are committed to imposing total systemic friction on narco-terrorists -- disrupting their operations, dismantling their leadership, and eliminating cartel terror across the region." Gen. Donovan said.

“Let me be clear, we will not permit narco-terrorists to operate with impunity in the Western Hemisphere, nor will we allow their deadly poison to reach American communities. This operation is a powerful demonstration of our lethal precision, overwhelming capability, and absolute resolve to protect the U.S. homeland," Gen. Donovan said.